Method of treating trees



Sept 4, 1928.

J. E. LAF FIN METHOD OF TREATING TREES Filed Aug. v2&7, 1925 'lill Patented Sept. 4, 19218.-

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PATENT FFICE.

NAMES E. LAFFIN, 0F BERLIN, NEW HAMPSHIRE, .ASSIGNOIL BY M ESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, T0 CHEMICOLOR 'WOOD PRESERVING C0., CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

METHOD OF TREATING TREES.

.application nled August 26, 1925. Serial No. 52,623.

'lhis invention, in Vits broadest aspects, relates to the treatment of the wood cells of a living tree with an irnpregnating material adapted to pass into and be taken up by the t capillary s m of the tree. The main object ot this invention is to provide a method oit treating living trees in an e'ective and economical manner. By such treatment, the wood cells ofthe tree may be colored by the i use ot'a` dye, preservative, or other treating material. After a dyeing treatment, for example, the trees may be chopped' down and sawed into timber, as usual. Such colored or dyed timber is especially adapted for use t in interior house hnishing, flooring, and furniture; or, it may be employed for any other desired purpose. I J

Before proceeding to a detailed description ot the present invention, however, 1n

l order to more fully appreciate the results achieved thereby, it isdesirable to preliminarily discuss certain known treatments to which wood may be subjected. A common treatment, for instance, is to surface interior i house nishing, furniture, or floors by the application of one lor more coats of such agents as varnishes or lacquers. Because of the relative impenetrability of the wood and its inability to absorb these agents, the Wood is essentially only surface-coated, and the interior of the wood thus retains its original color and structure. Moreover, by such practice, in order to produce a certain colored wood as in. the simulation or duplicamethod of eiicientlyvdyeing the 'entire tree or only certain sections of the tree, if detion of -thetcolor of certain relatively eX- pensive woods such asvmahogany and ebony, a coloring pigment is frequently'added to and mixed in with the lacquer or varnish to be employed. When wood is surface-colored with such pigment-treated agents in sufiicient amount to cover the color of the original wood, the-natural grain of the wood is in great measure concealed, and the appearance of the wood is thereby impaired; whereas, on the other, hand, if an insuliicient amount of agent is employed, the color ot the original wood persists or shows through.7 Another general wood treatment is the application of a dye or stain to the surface of the wood. followed' by coating the "Stained surface wit-h a'rvarnish. In such cases, the dye or stain as applied is usually absorbed in a liquid vehicle or solvent, but here, too, the stain does not penetrate the wood to any considerable depth, so that usually only a relatively `thin lsurface of Wood is colored. In any of the usual treatments, however, if the wood is inadvertently scratched or scarred, that is, where the varnish or stain and varnish is removed, the color of the original wood shows' through, and its appearance is thus impaired.

lin accordance with the present invention, however, it is possible to permeate and saturate the fibers of 'the wood with a dye or other like treating material, by treating the living or growing tree therewith. ln so doing, the dye is absorbed or taken up-by the Wood cells in the usual circulatory or capillary action exercised by the tree.. While the tree may be treated by any one of a number of methods, it should be borne in mind that in any event, in order to dye the tree, provision must be made to establish communication between the active intercellular or capillary glands of the tree and a dye. ln other words, if a tree is to be dyed' uniformly throughout, provision must be made to feed substantially the entire capillary systemof the tree with a dye; and if only certain sections of the tree are to be dyed, only that portion: of the capillary system connecting with these sections should be 'fur- .nished with the dye.

This invention-particularly relates to a sired, without so weakening its structure as to render it liable to be blown down. Briefly stated, this object is attained by forming `separate spaced chambers or compartments for containing dye within the tree, Without, however, impairing the integrity of the heartwood. so that the tree'is supported during treatment by said heartwood, as well as' by the sections left between the spaced chambers.

In the practice of the present invention, staggered, transversely extending chambers are formed in the sapwood portion of the trunk of a tree so as to establish communication with substantially the entire capillary l arrangement comprises two series of spaced system thereof. One preferred method of taken up by the capillary ducts or glands Vuo of the tree, and is fed or circulated through the wood cells, which absorb it and become impregnated or saturated therewith, so that at the end of a Icertain period of time the sapwood portion of the tree is entirely dyed. As indicated, in place of a dye, any other impregnating material adapted to be taken up into the capillary system of the tree ymay be supplied thereto. For example, an

aqueous solution of a wood preservative such as sodium fluoride (Na2F2) or zinc chloride (ZnC12) may be supplied to the tree or mixed with the dye applied thereto.

The manner in which this invention is practised and further objects and advantageous details incident thereto will be readily understood from the following more cornp ete description thereof, when taken in con- Junction with the accompanying drawings,

1n which Figure 1 illustrates diagrammatically and conventionally a tree undergoing treatment in accordance with the present invention and shows a preferred arrangement of the chambers withinthe tree.

Figure 2 represents an enlarged section through the trunk of the tree on the line 2--2 of Figure 1, Vand shows a series or tier of intercommunicating chambers.

Figure 3-re resents in front elevation an enlarged detai of a portion of the tree, and shows'the means for feeding the treating material into the chambers.

Figures 4, 5, and 6 show enlargeddetail sections, respectively, on the lines 4 4, 55 and 6-6 of Figure 3.

Figure 7 is a section on the line 7-7 of Fi ure 2.

iglure 8 shows another arrangement of' the c ambers.

Fi ure 9 shows a further arrangement of the c ambers;`and

Figure 10 shows arrangement.

While any tree may be dyed in accordance with the present invention, hard wood trees, such as birch, beech, maple, etc., are preferably dyed, since these woods are more suited a still further chamber tree 1 communicate.

that soft woods, such as spruce, hemlock and r fir, may be similarly treated, if'desired', as-

for instance, with an a ueous solution or preservative, especially w erethe tree' is to be utilized' for telegraph poles. Prior to treatment, the tree may be examined to observeits characteristics, such as age, quality of the wood, and the size and color of the heart. This may be accomplished by a cored gimlet, termed an increment borer, by means of whicha cylindrical blank of wood may be extracted from the trunk of the tree. The blank is then examined and the various characteristics to be observed are then noted.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates as a whole a living tree which 1s undergoing the impregnatingl treatment.y As indicated, in order to saturate or impregnato substantially all the Wood cells of the tree 1, provision must be made to establish communication between substantially all the capillary glands or ducts in the tree, and said impregnating material, without, however, suliicientl impairing the structure s0 that it is liab e to be broken by swayin caused by the wind. To this end, a series o approximatel horizontal and coplanar spaced holes 7i, (Figure 2) are bored inwardly with an auger or any other suitable boring instrument, preferably along radial lines, into the trunk of the tree 1, around its entire circumference. These holes h constitute chambers or compartments, with which a portion of the capillary or sap glands of the The holes or chambers h are preferably formed as near the roots or butt end of the tree 1 as possible. By such practicethe central portion or heart of the trunk is left intact, so that long boards nia be cut from the tree 1.

n order that the tree 1 may be able to withstand the action of the wind, the holesh extend only to the heart R of said tree. Thus the tree 1 is not only supported by the sections 2 remaining ,between the spaced chambers la., but by the dense and hard wood cells of which the heart R is composed and through which capillary action does not take place. During the dyeing treatment, moreover, in boring only up to the heart R, the heart rot H, shown as being located in the center of the tree 1, is not reached, so that in supplying. and maintainin dye in the chambers h, there is no loss b eakage or seepage through the heart rot Since the heart rot H is present in ap roximately 30% of all New England har wood trees suitable for sawing into good timber, it is quite important that the heartwood be not pierced.

In order to ensure the interconnection of the chambers L, even though they shouldnot intersect at the inner ends, said 4chambers previously into the ground.

till

may be' cross-connected by channels or ducts @extending from the outer extremity ot one chamber crosswise through one or more other chambers, at an angle, so as to connect as many holes or chambers l1, as possible withoutpenetrating the heartwood R. Thus, by

connecting one chamberof the entire series to a supply of treating material, all the chambers it' may be flooded, because of their interconnections.

After onel series or tier o holes has been formed, a similar series of interconnected holes Z is formed in staggered relationship to those of the other series, and at a different elevation, said second series connecting with the remaining circulatory or capillary glands in the tree 1. The outer extremities of all the chambers 7L are now obstructed by stoppers S and rovision is made for fee ing or supplying ye or other treating yagent lnto both series of said chambers. For this purpose, a tube T connected through a tube W to Jthe outlet pipe 5 of a reservoir 15 containing the dye is inserted through an -opening extending through one of the sto pers S into the corresponding chamber h. llhe stop ers S employed are preferably made of ru ber or an equivalent resilient material, so as to maintain a tight fit in the chambers h'when the tree 1 is swayed by the wind. The upper series or tier of chambers L may be supplied with dye by establishing communication with the lower chamber. For example, one

.of the lower chambers 71. may be provided withan outlet tube 9 passin through one of the Stoppers S and connecte by a tube 10 to an inlet tube 11' extending into an upper chamber through its stopper S. Thus, after the lower chambers it are Hooded by the dye, it rises through the tube -10 and enters into and doods the upper chambers it; or, if desired, said upper chambers may be connected directly. To permit the escape of air from the chambers z and the displacement thereof by the dye when said chambers are initially being Hooded, certain Stoppers S in the upper tier are provided with air vents or tubes c lextending into .the` upper portion of the chambers and having small Stoppers 12 at their outer extremities, which may be removed to allow the escape ot air and then ree inserted after the chambers h have been Hooded. The reservoir l5 may be supported by any suitable means above the level ot the upper tier ot chambers 7L, so that a supply ot dye may be maintained in said chambers by a gravity dow. For this purpose, the reservoir or container 15 is shown as provided with brackets 6,- 6, to which are 'attached stra s or wires 8, 8, which may be fastened to t e tree 1. y

ln place of the arrangement ot chambers described in connection with Figures 1 to 7, inclusive, l may produce and use the arrangement of chambers `shown in Figures 8,-

the tree 1, but without penetrating er cutting into the heartwood, and are staggered in V- formation or conliguration, so as to cover substantially all 'of the ^orosssectional r'area of the sapwood, and thereby eiect communi-4l vcation Wlth all the sap glands. of the tree l.

The holes may be cross-connected by boring through eachiof the sides of the super osedchambers It, and' they ma be stoppere and connected to a dye supp y, as described in connection with the arrangement hereinbe fore set forth. .O the holes` may be staggered in inclined form, as shown in Figure 9, so as to require only one row of chambers k to communicate with all the capillary glands of the tree. The holes should be formed so as'not to pierce through the heartwood, and they may be interconnected by transverse passages, 'so that all ma be supplied with dye solut1on,ias previous y indicated herein. Another method of forming the holes may `be thatv shown in Figure 10, where the holes e are arranged in parallelism, and extend horizontally transversely of the tree 1 without intersectin the heartwood, and they are cross-connecte by the, ducts d. Another series of chambers la. similar to that described is arranged in staggered relationship thereto, on a lane spaced above or below the first mentioned series.' The two series may be connected with one another and to a dye supply, as described in connection with the first described arrangement.

The dye selected may be of a shade to color the sapwood to match the color of the heart R, which is considered the most valuable portion ol" the tree 1 for woodwork. Theexact color of dye to eHect this result, or any other coloration, is somewhat ditierent, and must be determined by practice, the dye being doubtless modilied b reaction with the chemical constituents o the sapwood or undergoing other change which is diiicult to ascertain.

Assuming the tree 1 undergoing treatment to be about 20 inches in diameter and the` dye container tohave a capacity of about 25 gallons, about 12 hours is required by said tree in consuming this first supply ot dye. After the exhaustion ot the initial supply,

however, the rate of dyeconsumption de- Y tion'or precipitation of the dye occurring thereafter in the cells by oxidation, due to the action of the atmosphere. Any other dye capable of being taken up by the capillary system of the tree 1 may be employed.

It is obvious that, the larger'the tree 1,

the longer the time necessary feria complete For example, a small,

ably longer time.

While I have described a procedure L'wherein substantially the entire tree 1 is uniformly dyed throughout, it will be understood that only certain sections of said tree may be dyed, as by supplying dye to only one tier of chambers h. Such procedure would result in a striped eifect in the tree 1, and in certain cases this effect may be desirable. Or the chambers h. may be shaped in any desired form so as toproduce a non-uniform dyeing of the tree 1, This might in certain cases impart a very artistic and pleasing appearance to the wood. By` dyeing wood as describedherein, Iv have' found that such'dyed wood may be steamed and soaked in water for days and 4 weeks without destroying the color produced color.

in the interior of the wood. Even when allowed to-'weather for weeks, the color tends to remain in the fiber, becauseof the c plete saturation afforded by the capilla y feeding system in the living tree 1. I have further observed that the grain of the wood is accentuated or made \more pronounced, perhaps owing to the fact of the relatively dense and porous woods which represent respectively winter and summer growth of the tree 1, and the difference in saturation accomplished in the case of Woods of diii'erent density. Wood cut from trees 1 dyed asl herein described is especially adapted for furniture manufacture and for use in flooring and interior house finishing. The wood may be colored uniformly throughout,and hence when worked or cut presents the same Thus Yan article manufactured from such wood, when scarred, or scratched, may be worked down and refinished, since the color permeates the fiber, rather than being in the nature of a surface coating or thickness only. Moreover, expensive woods, such as mahogany, ebony, rosewood, walnut, etc., may be duplicated in color veryA easily b dyeing the growing or living tree 1' with a ye eil'ecting i a coloring corresponding to these respective woods, and in fact wood of, unusual colors, such as lavender, green, orange, or blue, mav bepro'duced by the process herein descrlbed.

aving thus described the natureof this invention and a method of practlslng the same, but without attempt to set fort-l1 all the diierent ways in whlch it may be practised; what I claim is:

1. A method of treating living trees, which comprises forming in the trunk staggered chambers extending transversely thereof and terminating substantially at the edge of the heartwood, and supplying such chambers with an impregnatingmaterial adapted to be taken into the capillary system of the tree.

2. A method 'of treating live trees, which comprises forming two series of coplanar chambers in the trunk which terminate substantiallyat the junction of the heartwood and sapwood thereof, the chambers of one series being staggered in reference to those ofthe other series, and supplying said chambers with an impregnating material adaptedin staggered relation. forming cross channelsl for connecting the chambers of each series, and supplying such chambers with an im- .pregnating material adapted to be taken into the capillary system of the tree.

5. A method of treatin living trees, which comprises` forming in t e trunk thereof a series of separate specially arranged radial chambers transversely of the trunk and which terminate substantially at the edge of the heartwood, with each chamber opening outwardly from said trunk, forming cross channels to aord communication' between said chambers, closin the open ends of the chambers, and intro ucing 1nto certain of said chambers an impregnating material adapted to be taken into the capillary system of the tree. i 6. A methodA of treating living trees, which comprises forming "a plurality of individual transverse radial chambers connected by cross channels within the -butt portion thereof, said chambers and channels terminating substantially at the edge of the heartwood of said tree, and supplying said chambers with an impregnatlng material adapted to pass into the ca illarysystem of the tree.

g. A method of treating living trees, which comp ises forming a plurality of spaced radia chambers and interconnectin coplanar channels in said tree so arranged specially-arranged aeaareo as to cover substantially all the crosssectional area of the sapwood and terminating substantially at the junction of said sapwood with the heartwood, and sup-` plying said chambers with an'impregnating material adapted to pass into the capillary system of the tree.

8. A 4method of treatin living trees, which comprises forming a p uralit of tiers of ccplanar chambers Within the utt p01'- tion thereof, each of said tiers embodyin a plurality of radial chambers interconnected by crcss channels arranged about the tree and in staggered relation to the chambers of an adjacent tier, said chambers terminating substantially at the junction of the sapwood with the klieartwocd and communicating with substantially all the active capillar glands ci said tree, and supplying said c embers with an impregnatinar material ada ted to be taken into the cap ary system o the tree until substantially all the living wood cells of said tree are permeated there 9. A method of treating living trees, which comprisescrmi in the trunk therecf staggered radial c ambers extending transversely thereof and inter-connected by cross channels, said chambers terminating substantially at the junction of the sap- "wood with the heartwcod, plugging the open cnds of the chambers, introducing into certain of said chambers an imprenating material adapted to be taken into e capillary 'material in said chambers until t system of the tree, Venting the air from saidchambers While initially supplyin material thereintc, and maintaining a suply of such e tree has been treated.

l0. A method of treating .living trees, which 'comprises orming'in the trunk there of a plurality of tiers of chambers covering substantially all the crcssfsectional area of the sapwood and terminating substantially at the junction ci said sapwood with the heartwood, each cf said tiers embodying a plurality of separate, substantially radial and coplanar circular chambers arranged about said tree and in staggered relation to the chambers ci an adjacent tier, forming cross lchannels for connecting the chambers of each series, each cf said cross channels extending from the vouter extremity of one chamber crosswise through one or 'more other chambers, plugging the open ends of the chambers, introducing inte certain of said chambers an impregnating material .adapted to be taken into the capillary system of the tree, venting the air from sa1d chambers while initially feeding material thereinto and maintaining a sup lyof such material in said chambers unti the tree has been treated.

In testimony whereof I have alixed my signature.'

JAMES E. LAFFIN. 

